REGINA — Over the past five years, the City of Regina has averaged 210 water main breaks linked to asbestos-cement (AC) water pipes, resulting in ongoing repair costs.
AC pipes are prone to water main breaks caused by shifting clay soil, according to Kurtis Doney, deputy city manager of city operations.
In hopes of becoming more proactive, Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak tabled a motion at Wednesday’s Regina city council meeting to look at ramping up AC pipe replacements and looking at using money from water main breaks.
“We’re spending a lot of emergency repairs on asbestos-cement water pipes, that is my concern. We are not meeting our targets [for replacements].”
The city committed to replacing 10km of AC pipes yearly, but Zachidniak noted Regina is only replacing between 7 and 9 km per year.
Recent reports indicate Regina has between 531km and 600km of AC pipes, meaning it could take up to 60 years to replace them all.
Council unanimously approved city administration look into renewal scenarios of 10 km/year, 15 km/year, and 20 km/year, and report back to council in late 2026. Any of the renewal increases would take roughly five years to incorporate.
After council, Mayor Chad Bachynski said other examples of large pipe failures, like in Calgary, show the city needs to invest in infrastructure.
“Those incidents that you see happening in other municipalities is a pretty clear reminder that we need to keep focus on this work and keep catching up.”
Bachynski also said this report can help the city coordinate different infrastructure repairs.
"[We can] really look at how we're prioritizing, how we're coordinating that work and look for any opportunity to not just look at those particular pipes, but also that we do coordinate that work with road work and other projects.”
Health concerns:
Health advocate Julian Branch has been investigating years of research pertaining to the risk of AC pipes.
“The asbestos is getting into the water, that poses a concern because the research will show that ingested asbestos passes through the gastrointestinal tract. So it is, it can enter the gastrointestinal organs and cause cancer.”
This statement from Branch had been found in a 2010 study by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).
Based on research, Branch called it “completely unacceptable” for the rate at which Regina is planning to remove AC pipes.
“They've got a big issue that needs to be dealt with; it's been ignored in the city for years, for decades. We need to get on the plan [to remove these faster].”
Although studies suggest a link between AC pipes and cancer, Health Canada suggests “there is no consistent, convincing evidence that asbestos ingested through water is harmful to your health.”
Bachynski said any of his decisions related to health complications with council would be based on expert opinion, like Health Canada, in this matter.
"We have to go with the experts that we rely on to make those decisions.”
If information changes with Health Canada, Bachynski said decisions will change as needed.
Branch said he is “cautiously optimistic” this council will speed up AC pipe removal.
